Mind Boggling Waste

Edward Humes: Total Garbage

We waste 40% of our food.

The Average American is responsible for 1.5 tons of garbage each year.

EPA States on Waste

EPA estimated that each year, U.S. food loss and waste embodies 170 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (million MTCO2e) GHG emissions (excluding landfill emissions) – equal to the annual CO2 emissions of 42 coal-fired power plants.

Humes also asserts, we waste 60% of our energy.

6 billion gallons

Vehicles idling combine to waste nearly 6 billion gallons of fuel per year, and cost owners more than $20 billion. That's a billion with a B. And idling consumes fuel without moving the vehicle, which means you're wasting both energy and money without doing any work. -gpstracker

Traffic congestion increases vehicle emissions and degrades ambient air quality, and recent studies have shown excess morbidity and mortality for drivers, commuters and individuals living near major roadways. Presently, our understanding of the air pollution impacts from congestion on roads is very limited

- nih.

Plastics

We produce 400 million tons of plastic waste per year attendant to food packaging, disposable bottles and the synthetics woven into our clothing


Headlines from the World Bank

First, rapid urbanization, population growth, and economic development will push global waste generation to increase by 70% over the next 30 years.

Second, in low-income countries, over 90% of waste is mismanaged – it is either openly dumped or burned.

Third, plastics are a profoundly difficult and complex problem.

Word Wildlife Fund points out

Micro-Plastic is in everything. We eat the equivalent of a credit card per week.

There's a solution - Consume less. 

As a part of a society known for it conspicuous consumption, the answer is pretty simple really. Once we are finished with  goods and products, they usually end up in a landfill as waste. The less we consume, the less damage we will do to the environment. Reducing our consumption is a great way to reduce our carbon footprint and take a political stance by rejecting our consumerist culture. (From on-line sources)

Using The Public Radio Business Model

After the Fact Funding

Actually, it's a business model that has been used by non-profits, including religious groups, for decades...even centuries.  Giving hinges on, "Does the content or the outcomes match the values and lifestyles of a targeted audience?" 

There used to be this public radio fund drive pitch that asked, what if other businesses came to you after you used their product and services and asked if you would be willing pay whatever you feel the service was worth. Our answer was that pitch would not work in the business world, but somehow it worked for public radio.  Here's that pitch put toward the greater good.

This Store Lets You Pay What You Can For Groceries That Would Otherwise Be Tossed

It’s saving perfectly good food from going to waste

The food and Agricultural organization of the United Nations estimates that 33% of food produced for human consumption in the world gets lost or wasted. That's about 1.3 billion tons a year. Per capita waste is at its worst in Europe and North America.

SAVE FOOD: Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction